Three 1000 W 80 PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supplies Tested

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We received a trio of 1000 W power supplies priced between $200 and $300, so we ran them through our usual suite of tests to see if they really live up to their 80 PLUS Gold certifications. Surprisingly, all three hiccuped during efficiency testing.

Conclusion And Comparison Table

We had high expectations of these three tested PSUs. The lofty power ratings and 80 PLUS Gold certifications promised some genuine highlights and the devices did not disappoint when it came to high power output, which is what these devices were designed for in the first place. Unfortunately we did not receive a lot of information on the individual peak power for each 12 V rail from the PSU vendors, hence we have to stick to the plain summary that you’ll get a combined 1000 W across four to six individual 12 V rails.

However, our tests mostly highlighted some weaknesses that should not exist at the highest end. None of the three PSUs actually managed to fully live up to the 80 PLUS Gold standards. The OCZ PSU slipped up a bit in the ripple/noise measurement, Sparkle's build quality undermined its solution a bit, and the Rosewill PSU suffered from impacted energy efficiency at low loads. The bottom line is a bit disappointing, given the high price points in excess of $200, with the OCZ Z1000M scoring best.

Comparison Table

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Manufacturer OCZ Rosewill Sparkle
Model Name and Number Z1000M Lightning-1000 GW-EPS1250DA
Recommended End User Price $205 USD $220 USD $300 USD
Power Certification 80 PLUS Gold 80 PLUS Gold 80 PLUS Gold
Weight 2.5 Kg 6.6 lbs. 5 lbs.
Operating Temperature 0 - 50°C ??? °C 0 - 50°C
Warranty 5 years 3 years 5 years
Power Specifications
Specification ATX12V v2.2 ATX12V v2.3 ATX12V/EPS12V
Specified Output Power 1000 W 1000 W 1250 W
Max. Peak Output 1100 W 1000 W Not Specified
AC Input 100 - 240 V 100 - 240 V 100 - 240 V
AC Voltage Selection Auto voltage Auto voltage Auto voltage
DC Output +3.3V 25 A 25 A 30 A
DC Output +5V 25 A 25 A 30 A
DC Output +12V (#1) 83 A 83 A 20 A
DC Output +12V (#2) n/a n/a 20 A
DC Output +12V (#3) n/a n/a 20 A
DC Output +12V (#4) n/a n/a 20 A
DC Output +12V (#5) n/a n/a 20 A
DC Output +12V (#6) n/a n/a 20 A
DC Output -12V 0.8 A 0.5 A 0.6 A
DC Power +12V Combined 1000 W 996 W 1250 W
PFC active active active
Specified Hold-Up Time 18 ms > 16 ms ≥ 17 ms
MTBF 100 000 hours 100 000 hours ≥ 60 000 Hours
Cooling Specifications
Main Fan 135 mm 140 mm 140 mm
Main Fan Speed 1800 rpm ??? rpm 2200 rpm
Secondary Fan n/a n/a n/a
Secondary Fan Speed n/a n/a n/a
Connectors & Environmental
20+4 pin Motherboard x1 (55 cm) x1 (55 cm) x1 (55 cm)
CPU 8-pin/4+4-pin 1/x1 (55 cm) 1/x1 (55 cm) x1 (55 cm)
PCI Express 6-pin/6+2-pin (Graphics) 0/x6 (55 cm) 0/x6 (55 - 65 cm) x4 (55 cm)
Molex 4-pin (Peripherals) x6 (55 - 90 cm) x10 (55 - 95 cm) x9 (55 - 85 cm)
SATA Power x12 (55 - 85 cm) x10 (55 - 95 cm) x12 (55 - 85 cm)
4-pin Floppy x2 (100 cm) x2 (105 cm) x3 (105 cm)
Product Specifics
Accessories Screws Screws, Lacing Cords Screws, Velcro Strips
Cable Management Yes Yes Yes
Other Details Row 40 - Cell 1 Illuminated Fan in Red or Blue; Screw-in Cable Connectors C20 Power Connector
52 Comments Comment from the forums
  • killbits
    hmm, maybe next time include a super-high-end psu that doesn't suck.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014

    takes any of the psu's in this review to school.
    Reply
  • mr_cb7
    hmm, maybe next time include a super-high-end psu that doesn't suck.

    Seriously where is PC Power & Cooling,Corsair, or Antec!
    OCZ and Rosewill thats it? OCZ is alright, but Rosewill is crap.

    try theses next time:
    http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/turbo-cool-1200.html (not GOLD I know but still)

    http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014

    http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=56794&vpn=HCP-1200&manufacture=Antec
    Reply
  • one-shot
    I have a 750W Corsair PSU. When gaming with my i7 920 @ stock and SLI GTX 260s, I haven't come close to 400watts, according to my UPS. If you take the number the UPS gives and factor in the efficiency of the PSU, the power draw is much less. I've seen up to 360 watts with TF2 and Test Drive Unlimited 2 so far. Although running burn tests on GPUs and CPU will draw much more.

    Running Bionc on CPU and F@H on both GPUs, I draw 441 watts with ALL components under HEAVY load. That's 100% on all CPU threads and GPUs. 1000W is enough for a lot of components.

    I also idle at 189 Watts with SLI enabled.
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    can you do a low-end psu review so we can see some stuff blow up!
    Reply
  • Chewie
    Call me a noob if you like, but I didn't realise using 230V was more efficient 115V. I guess that's a bonus for those of us down under.
    I just wish I could afford the kind of components that would require this kind of PSU.
    Reply
  • alidan
    ChewieCall me a noob if you like, but I didn't realise using 230V was more efficient 115V. I guess that's a bonus for those of us down under.I just wish I could afford the kind of components that would require this kind of PSU.
    can someone explain this to me, because i dont get it.
    Reply
  • tuhinz
    9509055 said:
    can someone explain this to me, because i dont get it.

    Its got to do with varying efficiency at different voltage levels.

    Consider the following:
    Power(P) = Voltage(V) X Current (I) X Power factor (Cos phi)

    Now for the same amount of power transfer, at lower voltages, the current required is more (See the equation below):
    P = V1 X I1 X Cos phi1 = V2 X I2 X Cos phi2
    (Substitute for V1 = 230, V2 = 115, neglect the slight difference in Cos phi1 & Cos phi2)

    The losses are given by :
    H =I^2 X R X t (where R is the resistance of the current carrying conductor, t is time)

    Thus losses increase in proportion to the current squared.

    So you have higher losses (hence lower efficiency) at lower voltages.
    Reply
  • alidan
    than why can you switch between? thats what im not understanding.
    Reply
  • jimishtar
    "Max. temperature difference air intake to outlet - less is better "
    where's the logic in this?
    bigger temp difference means the cooling system is more efficient and it takes the heat away from the components. why is air temp so important to you? If you cannot measure temp from inside the psu case (the components) why bother with air temp?
    Reply
  • tuhinz
    9509057 said:
    than why can you switch between? thats what im not understanding.

    You can't switch between the two. US & Japan & some S. American countries (IIRC) use 115V while the rest of the world uses 230V. PSUs meant for both markets often have a switch and you need to set it to the correct voltage for your country and plug it in. Many modern PSUs will often have a large input voltage range spanning both the voltage levels so you won't find the switch in them (My Corsair TX650 for instance).
    Reply